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homophony

homophony

9.6
Music with one main tune and other parts that move together
  • noun
  • /həˈmɒfəni/
  • Specialized
translation icon : homofonía
  • Learning about homophony helps students understand how different musical parts work together to support a leading melody.
  • homophony and polyphony

Examples

  • Their success with drones, responsorial singing, and ostinatos in the primary grades can lead naturally to the singing of polyphony and homophony in the upper elementary grades if teachers use appropriate materials, teach sequentially, and evaluate each instructional step.

    Academic text (1997)
  • One of the most sophisticated ways of singing homophony is to sing parallel harmonies by adding a line in parallel thirds or sixths.

    Academic text (1997)
  • For instance, European homophony can be contrasted with Chinese heterophony.

    Academic text (1997)
  • They begin and manage to continue for an entire verse of four lines in perfect homophony

    Academic text (2000)
  • They will have some understanding of homophony, counterpoint, and orchestral timbres.

    Academic text (2007)
  • By singing ostinatos based on chord roots, students begin to recognize the harmonic changes in their songs, an essential step toward learning homophony.

    Academic text (1997)
  • With the ability to sing and maintain one's own part in music while another part is being sung simultaneously, students improve their vocal and aural skills and learn both polyphony and homophony.

    Academic text (1997)
  • After students have moved through the preparatory steps and mastered some polyphony, introduce vertical harmony, or homophony, which consists of a melody concentrated in one voice part that is provided with accompaniment.

    Academic text (1997)
  • In classical music, the choir performed beautifully in homophony, with all voices harmonizing around a single melody.

  • The composition showcased homophony, allowing the main melody to stand out while the accompaniment provided rich harmonies.

How Polyphonic

polyphony
  • Specialized
1 8.6
homophony
  • Specialized
9.6
monophony
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

homophony singular
homophonies plural

Morphology

homophony = homophone (semi-transparent) = homo + phon + y

The components 'homo' (same) + 'phon-' (sound) indicate 'same sound', but the specific musical-technical meaning 'a texture with one dominant melody and supporting harmony' is specialized and not automatically inferable by an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Homophony comes from Greek parts homo- ('same') and phōnē ('sound'), the same phone you see in telephone. So in music homophony means several parts move together with one main melody, like voices making a 'same sound' that supports the tune.